Incomplete list of publicly announced layoffs & shutdowns:
What housing market recovery? “The number of future foreclosure auctions scheduled in January continued to increase in many states, foreshadowing more foreclosure spring cleaning to come in the next several months…”-RealtyTrac
Arizona: What building construction industry recovery? The Grand Canyon State lost 43-hundred construction jobs in 2014, the most in the U.S.! The Associated General Contractors warns that even more jobs will be lost in 2015. RealtyTrac says foreclosures jumped 100% from December 2014 to January 2015!
California: For some unknown reason the state Employment Development Department has stop posting WARNs. The last two WARNs are dated 09 February 2015. San Diego based Daybreak Game Company announced they are laying off employees in California and Texas, directly affecting the popular EverQuest franchise. It’s the result of Japan based Sony selling them off to New York based Columbus Nova. What housing market recovery? RealtyTrac reported a sudden jump in foreclosures by the end of January. In Los Angeles County 1231 homes were foreclosed on.
Colorado: DCP Midstream reducing fracking ops in the Denver-Julesburg Basin, and shutting down offices in Oklahoma, affecting at least 200 jobs! But don’t blame crashing oil prices, local news reports say company administrators planned the downsizing in summer 2014, before the prices started crashing! Crashing oil prices only galvanized their existing plans to downsize.
Connecticut: In Berlin, The Learning Experience preschool shutdown with ten days notice. The operators blamed “several circumstances beyond our control”.
Florida: Suwannee Valley Transit/North Central Florida Transit Authority to layoff six employees in March. It’s blamed on crashing revenues due to lack of customers and the fact that two former employees absconded with $200-thousand USD! But wait, there more bull-shit! For all their whining about not having any money the Transit Authority just replaced their board secretary, who was making $175 per month, with a new secretary who’ll be paid $275 per month! I though they didn’t have any money?
Georgia: What building construction industry recovery? Maker of concrete reinforcing steel Insteel Industries shutting down their Newnan factory in March, 20 jobs lost. They are consolidating ops as part of their takeover of American Spring Wire.
Hawaii: In Honolulu, after 42 years Sanders Piano shutdown. The owners said “It’s becoming a losing battle.”
Idaho: The state Department of Labor stopped posting WARNs, the last one dated 15 December 2014.
Illinois: Employees went public and revealed that the Ace Hardware on East Oakton Street, in Des Plaines, will shutdown by March. What housing market recovery? RealtyTrac reports that foreclosures for January 2015 beat out foreclosures for January 2014. In Cook County there was a 24% increase!
Kentucky: After 25 years JJ’s Consignment Shop shutdown without notice, clients say they’re owed big money! The owner disappeared months ago and apparently his son was running the store for the last few weeks.
Louisiana: TeleServices Direct announced they will shutdown their Lafayette office in March, 125 jobs lost! Administrators blame the bad economy.
Maryland: Spain based Santander Bank announced it is shutting down all ten of its Old Line State offices! Arrogant bank administrators told customers they could do their banking over the internet.
Massachusetts: France based legal drugs pusher Sanofi announced it will layoff about 1-hundred employees from several disease research centers!
Michigan: God refuses to stop ‘his’ bible seller, Family Christian, from becoming chapter 11 bankrupt busted, 266 stores across 36 states now threatened. The president of the ‘christian’ company, Chuck Bengochea, admitted the want of money caused by the 2008 crash forced them to take “on too much debt”.
Minnesota: Minneapolis based retailer Target laid off 550 people at its HQ! It’s part of Target’s massive and sudden exit from Canada. The Imperial Room bar and restaurant shutdown after losing its license to operate due to failure to pay taxes.
New Jersey: The Trenton School District says it must eliminate 113 teaching jobs due to a $19-million shortfall! But wait there’s more, previous announcements said a total of 350 jobs could be lost, once the state government puts out its final funding numbers for the 2015-16 school year! (and those layoffs are for just one of many school districts!)
New York: What construction market recovery? In Alden, building contractor Gamma North issued a WARN saying they will layoff 81 of their 99 employees by April. Administrators also admitted they already started layoffs back in January.
North Carolina: For the third year in a row Durham based legal drugs pusher Quintiles announced layoffs, this year at least 270 people will become jobless! Monument stone provider North Carolina Granite laid off 28 people. The 125 years old (surviving the Great deflationary Depression and numerous recessions) company has been laying off people since the early 2000s, reports say they are down to only 97 employees. What housing market recovery? RealtyTrac ranks North Carolina number 10 for zombie foreclosures (foreclosure of abandoned homes), at 3177 by the end of January!
Ohio: The Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities announced plans to shutdown the Montgomery Developmental Center by 2017, at least 213 jobs lost! Apparently Obama Care is forcing them to consolidate operations. What automotive industry recovery? General Motors (GM) is in the middle of shutting down their contractor run Trotwood distribution center, 107 jobs affected! This is strange because GM’s global profits are coming thanks to a 10% increase in Silverado sales (in 2014), especially in China and Venezuela which are the two countries the Trotwood distribution center ships Silverado parts to! Food maker General Mills confirming it will shutdown its 56 years old New Albany Pillsbury dough factory by the middle of 2016, at least 440 jobs will be lost! General Mills and worker’s union administrators claim the employees will get a generous severance package if they stay on until the shutdown, and could even make 26 bucks per hour. The shutdown will also affect 70 contracted workers at the nearby package making factory Sonoco (they make the tube cans for the Pillsbury Pop-n-Fresh dough products). The New Albany Pillsbury dough factory is the lifeblood of the community, half of the employees will be retired early: “My brother’s been there as long as I have, my dad retired from there, my wife works there, her nephew works there, so it’s a big family thing. These people have been around each other all this time, and it’s coming to an end.”-Steve Early, employed at the mill for the past 21 years
Oklahoma: In Jenks, after only ten years the RiverWalk movie theater shutdown by property developers who claim they will spend the next few years building a mega entertainment center.
Oregon: China based Hanjin Shipping has ended its operations at the Port of Portland, $83-million per year in wages and tax revenues lost, as well as 657 jobs!
Pennsylvania: Latrobe based industrial supplier Kennametal trying to bribe 1-thousand employees to quit by offering buyouts, administrators blame the oil, coal and construction industries! Administrators also revealed they began laying off employees back in December.
South Carolina: Milliken announced it will shutdown its Greenville textile mill starting in April, 200 jobs affected! Company administrators say the bad economy is forcing them to consolidate operations.
Tennessee: Illinois based R.R. Donnelley shutting down their Nashville printers, 133 jobs lost!
Texas: Houston based FMC says it will eliminate 2-thousand jobs, blaming the oil industry for projected crashing sales of its fracking equipment!
Wisconsin: After only one year the Shops of Grand Avenue Office Max shutdown! What housing market recovery? Lighting company Orion Energy Systems laid off 40 people. Company administrators said of the economy “The issues we face today are far more complex.” In De Pere, Furniture and Appliance Outlet being shutdown due to “The building has been a challenge to operate since the storefront itself got blocked by highway construction.” University of Wisconsin Madison warned of layoffs: “I just want to say how sorry I am. Because some of the people in this room are going to be impacted by cuts. I know how hard you work for this university and this state… we will get through this.”-Rebecca Blank, Chancellor, apologizing for the actions of Right to Work you over gov’na Scott Walker
07 – 10 February 2015: “You’ll starve to damn death….!”
The U.S. Department of Labor (DoL) doesn’t count the hundreds of layoffs involving less than 50 people each, in its mass layoff reports. It also doesn’t count all the little ‘mom & pop’ businesses that shutdown. It doesn’t count people who get a severance for being laid off.